Mei Jia Wu and Hangzhou West Lake

Our next stop was Mei Jia Wu enroute to Hangzhou's West Lake.  Mei Jia Wu is famous for it tea production.  The scenery was once again spectacular with terraced tea plantations intermixed with forests and streams running through a river valley.  We made a stop to learn more about tea production and sample some of the local tea which is reputed to be the best green tea in China.

At West Lake, numerous tourist boats were on the lake with those aboard taking in the marvelous scenes which came into view.  The hills around the lake were cloaked in mist.  We now understand why so many Chinese art works depicting natural settings contain mist or clouds.  The Leifeng pagoda was one of the oldest in China erected in 975 c.a. before it collapsed in 1924 and rebuilt in 2002.  It was one of the most impressive images we have seen in China.

Pagoda on West Lake - Hangzhou

Learning About Tea Production

Tea Plantation

West Lake Tour Boat

In the evening, we attended the West Lake Show which is a production staged entirely on the lake and produced by Zhang Yimou who was the artist behind the staging of the 2008 Summer Olympic Opening Ceremonies.  The performance was a spectacle of light, music based on local Hangzhou legends.  Hundreds of dancers floated upon the lake while musicians played Western Classical and Traditional Chinese music.  It was beyond description.